Friday, March 28, 2014

Review: LoveLines by S. Walden


Synopsis:

Arrive to work at 7:58 A.M. sharp. Check. Count forty-seven steps to cubicle. Check. Arrange pens in their red-blue-black-green-purple order of importance. Check. Apply hand sanitizer before opening email. Double check.

And that’s just the first few minutes of her work day.

Thirty-one-year-old proofreader Bailey Mitchell is a slave to her tics. She inherited Obsessive Compulsive Disorder from her father, and it’s done nothing but inhibit her love life. She’s run the gamut of boyfriends—none of them willing or able to cope with her condition.

Enter 32-year-old Reece Powell, her new coworker at Beach Elite Marketing Firm. He’s more than willing to cope. He finds her habits cute and quirky . . . for now. Reece wins her over, and life coasts along for them until Bailey experiences a devastating blow. Tragedy exacerbates her OCD, and Reece realizes her tics aren’t so cute and quirky anymore. Just like all the others, he has the choice to leave.
But Reece isn't like all the others.

Nicky's Review

3.25 Stars

Characters- Very likable, quirky and sweet. LOVED them, really.
Plot/Storyline- The story was very unique and had a great flow.

Steam Factor- Ummmm..... Yeah, didn't expect THAT from Reece. Damn!! He's a freak in the sheets... And I... Loved it?? Still unsure. 
Cover- Very cute and very fitting for the characters.
Cliffhanger- No. But the Epilogue is a bit random. It's a segue to another book, not about Bailey and Reece. That was a little weird for me.
Overall- I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone looking for something "different" to read because this book hits on weird and quirky and is very entertaining. It's very sweet with some drama. 

Ok, so let me start off with saying this: "S. Walden, I LOVE YOU girl. I like, LURVE you so much and can only aspire to be the writer that you are." With that said, I must say that this wasn't my favorite book.  I really enjoyed the characters, but there was a bit of weirdness going on, and I'm not talking about the weirdness you would think when reading about a girl with OCD. That kind of weirdness is expected but that's not my hang up.

Let me first start by saying that I did like Bailey. She's a sweet, sweet girl with some major OCD issues but she handles them very well in my opinion.  I also like how she is so close to her father. Their relationship was beautifully flawed, like two ugly ducklings banning together to create a beautiful world all their own. 

Reese was super cute and just an amazing guy all around. He's a sweet (but flat out blunt) guy who is like the beaten dog at a shelter who looks at you with his puppy dog eyes and just wants to be loved. Well, I loved him. BUT.... His behind closed doors behavior with Reese was so off to me. I felt a little disconnected from him at times because I started to wonder if he had multiple personality disorder. It was just a bit weird for me. This was the weirdness I was talking about.  

The story itself was very sweet and definitely kept me interested to see when the other shoe was going to drop, what hurdles they'd have to overcome together and how their ending would play out. 

I loved Reese's persistence and loyalty when it came to Bailey and I loved Bailey's ability to find herself and define herself in order to move on in life.  It was a beautiful story of a girl who struggles through life, finds a boy who frees her from some of her metaphorical shackles and allows her to battle some the demons she has lost in the past.  Their story isn't perfect, her OCD is real and will never go away, but they do get a HEA in their own little world.

All in all, it was a good story, just not a great story. Thank you S. Walden for thinking out of the box and creating this very unique and quirky story. It was very entertaining but a bit conflicting at times for me with Reese's character. I am still an avid fan and look forward to all of your future works of art. Not all works of art are perfect, but they are works of art nonetheless. XO




Favorite Quotes:

"Seriously. They honestly think saying, 'Baby, come for me' is all it takes to push us over the edge?"
"Maybe they think our orgasm are like trained circus animals," I offered.
Marjorie laughed. "Have they seen what's going on down there? Is there anything easy about that? Anything that looks like it could be trained?"
"I don't even know what the hell is going on down there most of the time," I replied. "And I own one."

"I like to discover those discarded treasures, adopt them, bring them home and clean them up. I think I relate to them in a way. No one wants me, so I understand how they feel. I mean, just because we're quirky doesn't mean we don't have value."

"He stared directly at my face, just like he did when he visited me at my cubicle for the first time. This guy had balls. Well, I mean, obviously he had balls. I hope he had balls. Bailey, stop thinking about his balls."

"Are you superstitious or something?" he asked after a moment.
"Well..." She averted her eyes.
"Thirteen isn't the scariest number on the planet," he offered. "Although that is around the time you hit puberty, and that mess is scary as hell."

"Bailey..." he said. Like I'm some fucking kid. Like, "Bailey, I'm warning you."
I fucking tapped that fucking pen all over my fucking desk.
He snatched it.
"What the fuck!" I yelled.
And then he scooped up all of my pens and walked off.
"Motherfucker," I spat, and went after him.

~Purchase This Book~

Kindle Link:


~Cast~





Brittany's Review

3.75 Stars

Characters- Reece and Bailey were so different and that's why I liked them so much.
Plot/Storyline- Very unique, funny and quirky but very S. Walden like ;)
Steam Factor- WOWZERS! I was expecting hotness from this book because of the author but I was not expecting that sexy, crazy and erotica from Reece!
Cover- It's cute! I like it....It's not as catchy as some of her other book covers but it definitely is fitting for the characters.
Cliffhanger-No.....I wish there was a little more at the end though. The epilogue is somewhat a prelude to the next book in the series TanLines.
Overall- It was a nice read and funny! I can say that I really liked this book because the writing of S. Walden (who I absolutely love and adore because she is amazing) was so good.


First, I will say that I basically gave this book 5 stars in my head before I read it. I just KNEW that I would love it why? Well because I have read EVERY S. Walden book and I know that she is an amazing writer and storyteller. But, this was just not one of my favorites and that's why I only could give it 3.75 stars. 

The writing is GOOD, the story is GOOD and even the characters are GOOD but, I think I was a little bored at time with the story. I can't even really pinpoint what part was boring but throughout the story I just lost interest at some points. I HATE even writing that because I never thought I would feel that way about any of Mrs. Walden's books.

I think one of the issues I had was with Reece's character. I just felt like he was two completely different people and I had a hard time connecting with him. I wanted to just love him and swoon him, but I just felt like he was kinda weird at times. Reece is super hot and sexy and very erotic in the bedroom. This is where I loved and hated him. Even though it was HOT, it just felt out of character for him. Bailey is super sweet, naturally pretty and quirky. I just loved that about her. Bailey has major OCD and it was interesting to see how the story would play out and how this affects her love life. I also love that the characters are in their 30's!

I love how S. Walden also made this a story about family. I love seeing families work through the hard times and reconnect. I was very shocked towards the end and saddened by a tragedy in Bailey's life, but at the same time it helped other people in her family realize the importance of love, forgiveness and what's important in life.

I still really liked this story and definitely recommend this book. It's a light, fun, sexy read and all the books in the series sound amazing! I am looking forward to reading TanLines next! 


Favorite Quotes

"There's a really hot guy staring you down!"
"Say it! Don't spray it!" I replied.
"Ain't nobody gonna do you if you say dumb shit like that," Erica replied. "This isn't middle school circa '94."
"Whatever." "Yeah whatever. Now when I say, spin around and take a look. Keep dancing though. We don't want it to be obvious."


"Can men get cellulite?" he wondered as he licked his finger and dabbed it all around the plate, picking up stray bacon bits. Oh, Jesus, I'm gonna get cellulite, he thought, sucking the bacon from his forefinger.


For the record, I don't care what any woman says. No one likes swallowing come. And if she says she does, she's just trying to be cool. It's disgusting and vomit-inducing. The only reason we do it is because it drives men wild. Or in this case, the only way to get eaten out. I swallowed, trying hard to ignore the burn as it slid down my throat leaving a nice bleach aftertaste. "Ugh!" I cried. "Yuck! Fluck!"
""Yuck and 'fluck', huh?" Reece asked. "You're an oral sex bully!"


"Life is nothing but juxtaposing the good with the bad. We have to learn how to handle both-how to cope with the frightening events and embrace the joyous ones. Or perhaps it's the other way around."

~Purchase This Book~

Kindle Link:
 

No comments:

Post a Comment